Monday, March 03, 2008

Why Crime Pays for Banditos

Four illegal aliens obtain fraudulent drivers licenses. They steal six expensive SUVs from rental car companies and get caught. What happens to them?

A. The criminals are forced to pay restitution and sent to jail for several years for their crimes.B. Arresting officers are put away for 10 years and the criminals are granted free passage to the U.S. to commit more crimes.C. The criminals are given a light sentence of 1-2 years in prison.D. The criminals are let go and told never to come back and do it again.

If you answered D, you would be correct according to The Rocky Mountain News. Here's the breakdown:One will serve no time in prison. He gets probation which is kind of like a written warning. He's also supposed to pick up trash for week and we'll pay for his drug rehab program if he decides to stick around a while.A second will be deported. He has been told that if he comes back within 3 years, we'll punish him. Otherwise, he can do whatever he wants. If he can avoid the law on future car thefts for the next 3 years, he still won't go to prison if caught after that.A third had his charges dismissed, but he'll be sent to Georgia for crimes he committed there. Apparently, they care.For all the difference it makes, the fourth criminal was able to get the charges dropped for lack of evidence. Since he had a fraudulent drivers license, it would seem that at least one charge should have stuck. The article didn't say anything about deportation, so he could be hanging around looking for the next car theft opportunity. Hopefully, he's still in Colorado.